(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a cool air dispersing system that can disperse cool air in a vertical direction as well as in a horizontal direction in a refrigerating compartment.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Refrigerators generally have freezing and refrigerating compartments that are cooled to below freezing and above freezing temperatures, respectively, by a coolant circulated according to a refrigerating cycle so that food and beverages stored in the refrigerator are maintained in frozen or refrigerated states, thereby enabling the food and beverages to remain fresh longer.
FIG. 1 shows a side-sectional view of a conventional refrigerator.
As shown in the drawing, the conventional refrigerator includes a main body 1 defining an exterior of the refrigerator, freezing and refrigerating compartments 2 and 3 provided in the main body 1, an evaporator installed behind the freezing compartment 2 for generating cool air, and a fan 5 installed inside the main body 1 for forcing the cool air generated by the evaporator 4 into the freezing and refrigerating compartments 2 and 3.
Respectively provided at the rear of the freezing and refrigerating compartments 2 and 3 are ducts 2a and 3a for guiding the cool air generated by the evaporator 4 into the freezing and refrigerating compartments 2 and 3 by means of the fan 5.
Disposed in the duct 3a is a cool air dispersing system 6 having a horizontal cool air dispersing device 7 for dispersing cool air in a horizontal direction within the refrigerating compartment 3 and a motor 6a for rotating the horizontal cool air dispersing device 7.
FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the horizontal cool air dispersing device 7.
The horizontal cool air dispersing device 7 is divided into upper and lower parts 7a and 7b each including a plurality of air guide portions 8. A rotating shaft 9 connecting the air guide portions 8 to each other is provided on each of the upper and lower parts 7a and 7b.
The horizontal air dispersing device 7 is divided into the separate upper and lower parts 7a and 7b to avoid a problem when manufacturing the device by a casting method. That is, to effectively disperse the cool air, the air guide portions 8 should be disposed at different angles from each other. As a result, the horizontal air dispersing device 7 cannot be manufactured as a one-piece casting. Instead, the device comprises the separate upper and lower parts that are interconnected. By inserting a projection extending from a bottom of the rotating shaft 9 of the upper part 7a into a groove 9b formed on a top of the rotating shaft 9 of the lower part 7b, the upper and lower parts 7a and 7b are coupled to each other.
In the above described refrigerator, since the air dispersing system disperses the cool air only in a horizontal direction, the temperature within the refrigerating compartment cannot be maintained evenly in a vertical direction. This problem becomes more serious in large refrigerators. That is, when a large volume of food is located in an upper portion or a lower portion of the refrigerating compartment, since the cool air cannot be concentrated at that portion, the temperature of that portion is increased.